Franchise Notes

In Baltimore, Childs Walker writes when the Orioles "open their home schedule" against the Twins on Friday, they will be "greeted by a fan base that was reborn through the tense drama" of the '12 season. Among the "expected sellout crowd will be a generation of fans, college-age and younger, who have no memory of rooting for a winning team" before last year. Walker: "You can look at numbers to measure an audience that grew throughout the Orioles' improbable run" to the playoffs. Last year's attendance was the club's "largest" since '07. Orioles merchandise, which "sold negligibly in previous seasons, suddenly occupied a market share similar to that" of the Red Sox (Baltimore SUN, 4/5).

LEAVING THE PACK:In Green Bay, Richard Ryman reported the Packers "changed shareholder services organizations" as of Thursday, "replacing Wells Fargo with Broadridge Corporate Issuer Solutions." Packers VP & General Counsel Ed Policy said that there was "nothing wrong with the job Wells Fargo did, but Broadridge allowed the Packers to choose the specific services they wanted." Initially, the team "considered taking all the services in-house, but decided there were some things they wouldn’t have the expertise to do well" (GREENBAYPRESSGAZETTE.com, 4/4).

RAY OF HOPE: In Tampa, Marc Tompkinnoted Rays mascot Raymond was photographed during Wednesday's game against the Orioles "holding a sign the team called inappropriate and others labeled insensitive: a 'Rays to-do' list that had '1. Steve Irwin' crossed off, with a World Series berth next." The Rays on Thursday issued an apology for a "lapse in judgment" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 4/5).